Sreedharan pulls out of two light metro projects in Kerala

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Peeved at the state government’s “apathy and go-slow”, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) on Thursday announced its exit from the proposed light metro project for two cities, Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode. DMRC chief adviser E Sreedharan, better known as Metro Man, said he was withdrawing from the project with a heavy heart. He said though he approached chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s office for a meeting a couple of times, he was denied an appointment. “The DMRC is withdrawing from the project with great dismay and reluctance. We found that the government has no interest in going ahead with the project,” he said, adding its offices in the two cities will be closed down immediately. “Since we are not able to start the work, we can’t continue our office operations. The DMRC is a company and without work, it can’t maintain its offices. For two offices, we need at least ₹16 lakh a month,” he said. Vijayan, however, downplayed the exit. ”The DMRC stopped its operation after the agreement with the government expired. It doesn’t mean that the government has dropped the project,” he said. BENGALURU: Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday unveiled the state flag, terming the move a historic decision that has been taken keeping in mind the history of the state and to promote the selfrespect of the people, although analysts say the primary motivation may be the coming state elections.

“The state cabinet had asked me to take a decision after taking the opinion of pro-kannada organisations and intellectuals,” Siddaramaiah said. “This is a historic decision. However, we cannot take the decision by ourselves and will require the Centre’s approval,” he added.

The proposal to have a state flag will be sent to the home ministry for approval. “We will press upon the Centre to clear this soon,” the chief minister said.

“This is for the first time that the state will have its own flag. There is no provision in the Constitution that prohibits any state from having its own flag,” Siddaramaiah said.